CHADRON, Neb. (Feb. 6, 2022) – The No. 25 Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball team (18-5, 14-3 RMAC) was able to persevere and pull out a 77-74 overtime victory over Chadron State (7-13, 6-9 RMAC) Sunday evening. A clutch steal with 14 seconds from junior Amaya Lewis allowed the ThunderWolves to take a late lead and ultimately seal the win over the Eagles.
 
The opening quarter started out slow for each side, only compiling nine points in the opening five minutes with much thanks to 3-pointers from Ro Dominguez and Morgan Dial.
 
Following the media timeout at the five minute mark, the Pack jumped to a 12-5 lead and then ultimately closed out the quarter ahead 19-11. 
 
A quick 5-0 burst from Jazzy Hughes and Amaya Lewis, the ThunderWolves leapt to their largest lead of the evening at 13. The quick second quarter start was not enough to deter the Eagles and the hosts stormed back with a vengeance.
 
Over the course of the final four minutes of the second quarter, the Eagles trimmed the ThunderWolves' lead down to a point with 1:22 to go in the first half. JaNaiya Davis hit a shot near the buzzer and put the Pack ahead 33-30 headed into the halftime break.
 
In the third quarter, CSU Pueblo attempted to pull away once more and put the Eagles away early. The 11-5 surge to begin the quarter was not enough to deter the Eagles and, soon, Chadron State gained its first lead of the game at 51-49 with 2:12 to go in the third.
 
Hughes and Lewis coupled two more jumpers together at the end of the frame and took the game into the fourth quarter with the Pack ahead 53-51. 
 
The Eagles came back out in the fourth quarter with their offense clicking. Chadron State nailed two 3-pointers and put the Pack in a five-point hole. The hole was quickly dug out of by the ThunderWolves after Dominguez splashed home another 3-pointer.
 
After the two teams traded blows for nearly three-straight minutes, Dominguez hit another deep shot and made it a two-possession game with 3:30 to go. The Eagles were able to stop the Pack offense from scoring for the final 2:56 of the quarter and took the game into overtime after a Dominguez 3-pointer at the buzzer got partially blocked. 
 
Tied up at 66-66, each team looked for an edge in the overtime period. The Eagles drew first blood with a bucket to start it off and soon put the Pack behind by four with 2:35 to go in the crucial overtime period. 
 
The ThunderWolves refused to go quietly. Tomia Johnson hit a bucket with 2:10 to reinvigorate the CSU Pueblo offense and pull the team back within two points. 
 
Chadron State sunk a free throw with 36 seconds to go to put CSU Pueblo trailing by two. Alisha Davis was able to make the most of the Pack's next possession and drive down the lane for a game-tying layup with 14 seconds to go.
 
An Eagles timeout following the bucket advanced the ball up the floor for the Chadron State offense. Despite the tight spot for the Pack, Lewis threaded herself between the out-of-bounds passer and the guard and nabbed the pass from the Eagles. Lewis raced the length of the floor and sunk the layup with 6.7 seconds left on the clock.
 
After another timeout by Chadron State, the ThunderWolves defense shut down the Eagles once more. The pass soared over the top and out of bounds. 
 
An Alisha Davis free throw put the game at 77-74 with three seconds to go. The Eagles heaved up one more desperation 3-pointer but Lewis was there to save the day once more and blocked the attempt to ice the game for the Pack.
 
CSU Pueblo claimed the intensely contested 77-74 overtime win over Chadron State to clinch the Pack's fourth-straight win.
 
Alisha Davis notched her third-straight 20-point game after dropping 21 on the Eagles. Her 11-made free throws helped lift the Pack down the stretch. The junior added on six blocks to her line to go with five rebounds. 
 
Off the bench, Lewis' superb 14 points, five steals and four assists helped the Pack soar past the Eagles. Dominguez helped out the Pack and nailed four 3-pointers and nabbed three steals to go with 14 points.
 
Hughes tallied 10 points and six rebounds off the bench to help round out the ThunderWolves' scoring. Hughes, Dominguez and Alisha Davis each racked up three steals. 
 
CSU Pueblo's escape from upset marked its fourth-straight win and move the Pack to 18-5 overall and 14-3 in the RMAC. The Pack head back home next Friday as they host Westminster (12-6, 11-3 RMAC) in a conference rematch at 5:30 p.m.